Beryl tracker update: Increasing risk of 'life-threatening’ storm surge as path heads toward Texas
Beryl tracker update: Increasing risk of 'life-threatening’ storm surge as path heads toward Texas, After moving through the Caribbean last week, Beryl — currently a tropical storm — is expected to reach Texas this weekend and once again become a hurricane.
As of 7 a.m. central time on Sunday morning, Beryl was about 220 miles southeast of Corpus Christi with maximum sustained winds around 60 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center. The storm is expected to intensify between Sunday and Monday, with Texas Lieutenant Gov. Dan Patrick adding 121 counties to the state's Hurricane Beryl disaster declaration.
Meteorologists warned that “there is an increasing risk of life-threatening storm surge for the Texas Coast.” The storm has been blamed for at least 11 deaths so far.
Tropical Storm Beryl is currently moving through the Gulf of Mexico and is anticipated to strengthen into a Category 1 hurricane as it approaches the Texas coast. Hurricane warnings have been issued for parts of the coast — from the mouth of the Rio Grande northward to San Luis Pass — while a storm surge watch is in place from the mouth of the Rio Grande northward to High Island.
A tropical storm warning was also in effect for the Texas coast south of Baffin Bay to the mouth of the Rio Grande, as well as for the northeastern coast of mainland Mexico from Barra el Mezquital to the mouth of the Rio Grande.
Beryl hit Jamaica on Wednesday as a Category 3 storm, causing widespread outages and damage before passing over the Cayman Islands and heading toward Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. On July 3, the Jamaica Public Service Company reported that more than 400,000 customers were without power across the country.
Beryl did the most severe damage when it made landfall earlier this week on the Grenadines, a small belt of islands in the eastern Caribbean. About 90% of buildings and homes on three small islands were destroyed or damaged when Beryl made landfall earlier this week, officials said at a news conference held by the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency.
Jamaica Prime Minister Andrew Holness has declared the country a disaster area until July 10.
Grenada Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell described the "total destruction" to the islands of Carriacou and Petite Martinique in Grenada at a news conference Wednesday.
"Having seen it myself, there is really nothing that can prepare you to see this level of destruction," Mitchell said. "It is almost Armageddon-like, almost total damage and destruction of all buildings, whether they be public buildings, homes or private facilities."
Mitchell also described the "complete devastation and destruction" of agriculture and the natural environment, and severe damage to boats, marinas and the electrical grid on Carriacou.
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